The Alexandria Waterfront

For the last six months, I facilitated meetings of the City of Alexandria-appointed Waterfront Plan Work Group. Because there was so much controversy about a plan for the waterfront developed over the last few years by City staff with citizen input, the City appointed this seven member Work Group to identify areas of agreement and disagreement and offer recommendations they believed could strengthen the plan and unify the community.

This morning at a press conference at City Hall, the Work Group released its report, which can be found on the City of Alexandria's website (along with videos of all of our meetings) or at http://bit.ly/sxiqpt

In spite of very differing views among members of the group, the Work Group's report does highlight some important areas of agreement as well as offers the City Council some specific suggestions for focusing their deliberations when they meet next month to consider approval of the plan.

This certainly was an opportunity for me to witness connective change in my own backyard. Citizens appointed to the Work Group were all volunteers, and it was fascinating to see how they worked with one another as well as with City staff to produce a report that would be useful to Council. Sadly, I also had a front row seat to some of the most uncivil behavior I've seen anywhere in the world, leaving me wondering if this is a microcosm of what is going on in communities throughout our country and hoping it's not a foreshadowing of things to come.

The Empowering of Women Leaders in the Middle East

All of the elements of Connective Change that I teach and write about are evident among the women leaders I am working with here in Amman. Although they come from a wide variety of cultures in the Middle East and North Africa, they share a passion for creating opportunities to increase women's economic opportunities throughout the region. They have formed a region-wide businesswomen's network to build the next generation of women business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Thomas Friedman's latest book, That Used to Be Us, is an astute analysis of how the United States has fallen from its admired position in the world, and why today's youth--for the first time in our nation's history-- cannot expect a higher standard of living or longer lifespan than their parents. Sometimes I think I can feel the resignation to this decline among neighbors, colleagues, and clients. This sense in America that the good life is unfairly and unfailingly eluding us seems particularly noticeable to me today. The first reason is that it's Veteran's Day and I have been reflecting on my mom's service as a WAC during WWII, as well as the values that she and others in her "greatest generation" imbued in us, their children.

The second reason this sense of pessimism about America's future is on my mind today is that there is such a different feeling here in the Middle East, especially among the women leaders with whom I am working. They are full of hope, vision, enthusiasm, courage, creativity, anticipation, and a deep belief that anything is possible. Their view could be summarized as That's Going to Be Us, because they have a shared vision, seem to have found their own voices, and are set on participating fully and authentically in the economic, political, and social changes that are reshaping this region.

These leaders are not trying to mimic the US, or anyone else. Their approach, forged from their own histories and cultures, is truly connective--dedicated to being inclusive, transparent, ethical, entrepreneurial, and constructive. As these women leaders grow their regional network, the positive impact of their work will cascade throughout their families, communities and the entire region. I look forward to witnessing the results they create together.

Women Leading Connective Change in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) Region

Being back in Jordan to continue work with the MENA Businesswomen's Network, I am in awe of the intelligence and tenacity of these women. Business leaders and entrepreneurs from 10 countries, they are dedicated to helping more women become business leaders and entrepreneurs, contributing substantially to the economic vibrancy of their communities and the entire region.

As I am in the process of writing a book about Connective Change--choices that link people to one another in pursuit of shared, positive goals--it is so affirming to witness Connective Change as the natural style among these amazing women. With so many obstacles to overcome, they doggedly focus on the positive and the good--what CAN be done if they remain clever, collaborative and creative. It is a gift to be in their presence and drink in their enthusiasm for what is possible as well as their celebration of what has already been achieved.

Thank you, Vital Voices, for providing me the opportunity to share with and learn from these diverse and determined women. I was asked at lunch what makes me happy. Without hesitation, I replied that feeling relevant makes me happy. And being here, coaching these leaders, without a doubt makes me feel both useful and happy.

Dr. Abdi--Mother Theresa meets Rambo

Last night I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Hawa Abdi and her daughter, who have worked tirelessly since 1983 to save Somalis. Today they run a camp for 19,000 refugees. The situation they describe is incredibly desperate, yet they continue to serve. They are truly models of working with absolute devotion to purpose and harmony. Where chaos and violence reign just outside their camp, they work with few resources to save lives. Look for Newsweek's feature story of Dr. Abdi on Monday and please support her work if you can. 100% of contributions go directly to their work:http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IIP90Ol%2FnyhTw0GVZtu50C86y9w7enCr

Practicing Resiliency and Gratitude

When I came home to my cottage last night, I noticed pine branches littering my driveway, preventing me from being able to enter. Once I made my way up the cottage, I noticed a screen blown out of the porch door and a 40 pound plant moved across the porch. Hmmm.

I turned on a few lights and discovered heavy metal furniture had been tossed right off the deck. Uh-oh. I straightened up the best I could in the dark, looking forward to hearing from my neighbors in the morning about what kind of gust must have come through to create such a mess.

This morning, I awakened to a yard littered with fallen trees—fallen and transported from someone else’s property! (see photo) My neighbors reported that we were the lucky ones. Further down the island, boats had been blown out of the water and crushed into buildings, trees ripped from the ground and hurled through the air--one with such force that it went in one side of a building and out the other. They won't have phone service or power for a while.

That put today’s unplanned cleanup into perspective. Nobody injured. Even my osprey and barn swallow babies all survived. Just a real mess. Something I could handle.

As I was clearing debris, I couldn’t help thinking about how often this happens in organizations. Some unexpected storm blows in, you discover in stages how widespread the damage is--and then you have to put it into perspective, clean it up, and move on. This takes resiliency, and it is essential in these stormy times for both individuals and organizations. My colleague Al Siebert, author of The Survivor Personality, believes that resiliency can’t be taught, but it can be learned. I used today’s cleanup activities as practice in resiliency and gratitude that my damage hadn't been worse.

As you work toward building connectivity and achieving greater purpose and harmony in your organization, don’t forget to practice resiliency and gratitude. They will serve you well the next time an unexpected storm hits. And, hey, if you recognize the lob lolly pine in the photo as yours, contact me to claim it before I get to clearing that section!

What Harmony Looks Like

We all know what harmony sounds like. But what does it look like? I recently witnessed a powerful example.

Over the last several months, I have had the opportunity to observe several Irish music sessions, where musicians gather to play music together for the sheer pleasure of it. Last week, I attended a session at a local pub, O'Connell's, where world-class fiddler Brendan Mulvihill, and guitarist Brian Gaffney were joined by six of their pals for a friendly session. It goes without saying that they sounded superb. But beyond that, watching them was a dramatic illustration of what harmony LOOKS like.

There was no official leader of the group, because none was needed. Leadership flowed from one musician to the next without a word being spoken. Nobody took more than his number of turns. When in the lead, each guided the group to a favorite tune. In the course of the evening, each musician had the chance to select tunes, to have his musical talents featured, and to support others who took the lead. Some switched instruments depending on what the song called for. Nobody hogged the spotlight, nor had a personal agenda. They spoke words of encouragement to one another and praised whatever tune had just been selected. There was joking and back-patting. They interacted warmly with the few of us who were there to listen. And the music they created was made sweeter by the fact that they were enjoying being with musicians of their own caliber, playing rare tunes they loved that may be too esoteric to play for paid performances.

Can you imagine creating this group dynamic in your own organization? Focusing on the creation of whatever it is you exist to create, for the pure joy of doing so? Developing a team that is devoid of hidden agendas and ego needs? Where leadership is shared, and members encourage one another?

If that seems like an impossible stretch, ask yourself what steps you could take to move in that direction. Does everyone agree on and support what the team exists to do? Who on your team can model shared leadership? How can you reward such behavior? Does every team member get to do what s/he is best at every day? Does someone know each team member well enough to offer encouragement regularly? Research shows these are some of the most important elements needed for a group and its members to achieve their greatest potential. It took a group of Irish musicians sitting around a table in a pub to remind me of what it really looks and feels like.

Thoughts on Women and Power

Riham Helmy, Vital Voices participant from Egypt, with Sherry Schiller

Last week I had the pleasure of working with two amazing groups of women through Vital Voices. One group is composed of 26 dynamic entrepreneurs from developing countries, in DC for a partnership of Vital Voices, the US State Department, and Fortune the Most Powerful Women.

I had the opportunity to lead seminars with these inspiring women for two days, including a session on shaping organizational cultures and leading change. It’s always so interesting how universally applicable my work is on organizational culture and leading change. The participants came from different continents and different industries. Their organizations ranged in size and age. And yet they all had experienced connective and disconnective cultures, and were grateful to learn a model to understand and shape culture. Similarly, our work around leading change was built on strategies to create greater purpose and harmony. They found these strategies practical and insightful, whether they were going to apply them in a manufacturing company in China or a micro-enterprise in Haiti.

All of these women are multi-talented, courageous, and dedicated to improving their communities and countries. One of our participants, Thembe Sachikonye, is engaged in the first independent news reporting and commentary in her country, Zimbabwe. I think you’ll be fascinated by the newspaper article she published about her experiences here last week. “Thoughts On Women and Power” by Thembe Sachikonye, News Day – Zimbabwe (excerpt). Click on the article title link for her complete story.

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Thoughts on Women and Power

At the beginning of this week I sat in Washington DC, in a room with 25 emerging women leaders between the ages of 25 and 45, from countries all across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, who are participating in the Vital Voices Global Partnership.

Without exception each woman appeared in some way to be a change agent, often going where others had not gone before, and taking risks that required courage and commitment to achieve uncommon goals.

Vital Voices Global Partnership is an NGO that identifies trains and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to make use of their potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.

By equipping women with management, business development, marketing and communication skills, the partnership helps women to expand their enterprises, provide for their families and create jobs in their communities.

Thinking about it later, I realized that the leadership potential, the resolve and the intelligence and education I witnessed in that room were not unique to this space and this time.

In each of the countries represented by these women, there are 25 others, 250 others, 2 500 others and many more who, while they may not be in one room at the same time, are still as capable and effective as the ones congregated in Washington.

They too are agents of change, pioneers, trailblazers and icons of empowerment. What do all of these women have in common?

Let me know what you think about these issues.